Used Car Buyers Beware of Odometer Fraud

by RCMP Ottawa - February 21, 2000.

“Marnie” (not her real name) is a young woman in her early 20s working
at her first job. She recently bought a used car for $7,000, hoping to get
a few years of hassle-free use out of it. But now she takes the bus to
work while her car sits in the backyard, destined for the scrap heap.
Marnie is the unfortunate victim of odometer fraud.

With spring just around the corner, many people shop around for a set
of wheels, and used cars are very popular. In fact, thousands are sold
every year in the National Capital Region.

The RCMP has a few words of advice for those thinking of buying a used
car: do your homework on the car's history to make sure the odometer isn't
lying.

Two car dealers busted

Since new year, police have laid charges against the owners of two
small local car lots following a six month investigation into allegations
of odometer tampering. Three more area car lots are currently under
investigation for the same reason.

Mohamed A. Tirani, owner of A-1 Tire Centre at 1527 Michael St., has
been charged with three counts of odometer tampering and two counts of
fraud under $5,000. George Edward Scarcella, owner of Affordable Motors
at 1640 Laperriere Ave., has been charged with five counts of odometer
tampering and five counts of odometer replacement with intention to
defraud, as well as five counts of fraud (three over $5,000 and two under
$5,000).

The Ottawa RCMP's Federal Enforcement Section is responsible for
odometer tampering and replacement under the Weights and Measures Act.
According to Cst. Bryan Dufresne, lead investigator for odometer tampering
cases in the region, this kind of crime is a big problem in the area.

“A lot of people think that odometer tampering is a big joke, but when
you get burned for $5,000 or $6,000, suddenly its not so funny,” says Cst.
Dufresne. “We take this kind of fraud very seriously. In fact, car dealers
caught tampering with odometers can end up with a criminal record, and
never be able to sell vehicles in Ontario and Quebec again.”

Protect yourself

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take as a consumer to
protect yourself:

Take the car's serial or vehicle identification number (VIN) and the
odometer reading. Then get a list of the previous owners from the Ministry
of Transportation. A few phone calls to previous owners can help you
discover if the odometer reading is correct.

Buy only from dealers who keep kilometre records dating to the initial
purchase of the vehicle.

Do your math: a vehicle owner on average racks up between 20,000 to
30,000 km per year. If the kilometres seem too low to be true, be sure to
check out the car's history.

Got a lemon?

If you have already purchased a car and suspect that the odometer has
been tampered with, there are several organizations you can turn to for
help:

Vehicles privately purchased in Ontario: Contact the Ontario Motor
Vehicle Industry Council at 1-800-943-6002 or their curbsider hot line
1-888-662-8727.